Thanksgiving. A day that comes attached with so many memories of family gatherings and food. I am often playing the reel of past Thanksgivings in my head as the holiday meal is prepared. Every dish served is chosen for its significance to our family’s historical record. Often times, I use the exact recipes and processes to prepare the food, as did my parents and my grandparents. As if, by keeping the traditions, I can keep the memories intact. I recently came across a journal where I had jotted down the happenings of a Thanksgiving long passed. It made me smile. It went something like this…

Our Thanksgiving meal requires two chefs. One chef is responsible for the Turkey. This person has the awesome task of making sure the Turkey goes into the oven and comes back out at the appropriate time. This person cannot, during the course of the day, engage in any activity which might distract them from the Herculean effort that being the Turkey Chef imbues. They cannot sit through an entire quarter of football without hopping up to check the “Bird” as it is affectionately known. This Turkey Chef will cut short endless conversations (which in themselves are pursuits of fancy as everyone standing around all day waiting for a Turkey to cook, rarely has anything meaningful to say) to stride purposefully to the kitchen to refresh their beer, offhandedly glance at the oven, and check their watch, as if to reaffirm to themselves and anyone else present, that they are, in fact, the Turkey Chef. We call this person, Dad. The other chef, Mom, is responsible for everything else. One year a decision was made to enlarge the dining room table’s capacity by engineering a sort of false top that would attach in a secure fashion to the actual table top and would increase the available surface space by at least 50%. This would alleviate the need to leave trays in the kitchen and we could all eat our meal without having to pop up every time someone needed a refill. Brilliant! The Turkey Chef (aka Dad) was in charge of assembling the new table appendage. In a true act of showmanship, Dad waited until Thanksgiving Day to begin the process of calculations and design that would ultimately become the new table top. While he was a flurry of activity, Mom was all atwitter about who was going to watch the Bird and why does he always have to do things at the last minute? Dad was truly in his element. He measured, cut, hammered, and cut some more. The onlookers (the rest of the family), were taking bets on when this dining table masterpiece could reasonably be expected to emerge from the workshop. It was at last unveiled, the crowd audibly hushed and in awe, around midnight. We gamely assisted in getting the unwieldy piece of apparatus attached to the table and with a flourish Dad announced to Mom, “We’re ready!”

Dad was fearless. Mom was tolerant. In a crazy way, somehow it worked. These days, the pressure to streamline, cut back and rework our daily lives and celebrations, is real and palpable. Do we really need all of those fat laden, over the top dishes and desserts in order to celebrate our national holiday? Technically, no. Are traditions really just acts of sanctioned waste and excess? Probably. Will you see me jumping on the bandwagon to serve up an anemic meal to a bored crowd who are anxious to be somewhere else? NO WAY. I realize there are people who are suffering, the planet is struggling, and we must all do our part to clean up the damage we have done to our society and our world. I get it. But our traditions are more than just acts of excess. They are a way to keep the memories of loved ones near and dear to our hearts, even when they can no longer be with us. Sorry folks, some things just shouldn’t be tampered with.Join me for other journeys through food, family and farming at www.facebook.com/thepocketfarmer

First TPF seed trade! Marie is growing a Jack be Little pumpkin from our very own TPF seed stock. Go Marie!

Just a quick note today...the TPF Seed Exchange is up! As we all know, it is easy to find seeds online to purchase. If you are like me, many times I have to purchase way more seeds than I need for my purpose. Especially when I am trying out a new variety or my space for a particular plant is limited. Organic, non-hybrid seeds also command top price, and when you include shipping, the costs can really add up! The TPF Seed Exchange is a great way to get seeds without hurting your wallet. Seeds are FREE to traders! (Only pay for shipping which is one first class stamp.) Details are on the TPF Seed Exchange tab. I'm still looking for more traders, so if you have seed available, contact me at thepocketfarmer@yahoo.com. You can join me at www.facebook.com/thepocketfarmer, for more fun, farming, gardening, cooking and more! Love to see you there!

Why sourdough? Well, for starters, I was born and raised in California. Specifically, we hailed from a small town about an hour north of San Francisco. The Sourdough capitol of the world! It is THE bread. The only bread that matters. And during the first 30 years of my life, it was so readily available that, dare I say it, I TOOK IT FOR GRANTED. Having lived in the Midwest now for the past 13 years, we've had some lean times when it comes to sourdough. Real sourdough was hard to find!. We are talking YEARS, that I was denied the tasty tangy bread. Nowadays, there are a couple places that regularly stock it, and I usually buy all they have. So you can see why I was so eager to learn how to make it myself. If you know me, you might know that I have conquered some big challenges. I am a mom. I am a woodworker. I have a degree in Industrial Electricity. I can sew, cook, build, plant, grow, paint...you name it, I've probably dabbled in it. I can even balance your books. So why is it, that when I wanted to make a sourdough starter, I suddenly had 10 thumbs?? If there was a wrong turn to take, I took it. I had no intuition when it came to the starter. I was scared to do the wrong thing, and as a result, I killed off three starters. That was when the miracle happened. I opened up my failure to my Facebook friends (you can read about that here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=227546357304389) and you walked me through it!! I found clarity and composition...The AHA moment! Finally! Starter #4 began with the cookbook closed. I knew the drill by heart, but unlike before, this time I had confidence. I didn't measure anything. I didn't set the timer. I did what felt right. Guess what? My starter thrived! I've successfully baked three loaves of bread this week. I am a rock star!! lol I've added a page to this blog entitled "Sourdough!". There you will find the starter recipe I used, along with tips and tricks that might help you get to this happy place with me. I hope you try it! It really is a wonderful bread and so nice to share with your family and friends. And to everyone who helped me on my sourdough journey, THANK YOU! I couldn't have done it without you! My family thanks you! The dogs and chickens thank you! (They love it too!)Join me and friends at www.facebook.com/thepocketfarmer. Hope to see you there!

Hi, I'm Sue Pranskus, and this is my sometime blog. It's mostly about my attempts to "green-up" my life. On our little farm we experiment with livestock, gardening, building, repurposing and anything else that we find interesting. Born and bred on the West Coast, I am living in the Midwest by choice, not circumstance. I have built a life based largely on core values and loosely on whimsy. It's that whimsy, though, that gets me in trouble every time!